Pooping Peasant Popular in Spain

[IRiSHMaFIA]

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) - The Virgin Mary. The three kings. A few wayward sheep. These are the figures one expects to find in a traditional Christmas nativity scene. Not a smartly dressed peasant squatting behind a rock with his rear-end exposed.

Yet statuettes of "El Caganer," or the great defecator in the Catalan language, can be found in nativity scenes, and increasingly on the mantelpieces of collectors, throughout Spain's northeastern Catalonia region, where for centuries symbols of defecation have played an important role in Christmas festivities.

During the holiday season, pastry shops around Catalonia sell sweets shaped like feces, and on Christmas Eve Catalan children beat a hollow log, called the tio, packed with holiday gifts, singing a song that urges it to defecate presents out the other end.

These traditions, in the case of the caganer dating back as far as the 17th century, come from an agricultural society where defecation was associated with fertility and health.

While the traditional caganer is a red-capped peasant, more modern renditions have gained popularity in recent years.

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erm I reckon it's easy to make your own christmas decorations then. Just have a dump and you're sorted lol

[Skylace]

Nothing says Christmas like a pile of feces!

[faceless]

There was a feature about this on the Christmas episode of Qi, a comedy quiz panel game show on BBC, that was on last Friday. It's a weird one eh?

[Skylace]

[Skylace]

The Tió de Nadal (roughly "Christmas log"), also known as "Tió" or "Tronca" ("log"), is a mythological character in Catalan mythology relating to a Christmas tradition widespread in Catalonia.

The form of the tió de Nadal found in many Catalan homes during the holiday season is a hollow log of about 0.3m length, typically standing up on two or four little stick legs with a broad smiling face painted on the higher of the two ends, enhanced by a little red sock hat (a miniature of the traditional Catalan barretina) and often a three-dimensional nose.

Beginning with the Feast of the Immaculate Conception (December , one gives the tió a little bit to "eat" every night and usually covers him with a little blanket so that he will not be cold at night.

On Christmas day or, depending on the particular household, on Christmas eve, one puts the tió partly into the fireplace and orders it to "shit" (the fire part of this tradition is no longer as widespread as it once was, since many modern homes do not have a fireplace). To make him "shit", one beats him with sticks, while singing various songs of Tió de Nadal.

The tió does not drop larger objects, as those are brought by the Three Wise Men. It does leave candies, nuts and torrons. Depending on the part of Catalonia, it may also give out dried figs. When nothing is left to "shit", it drops a salt herring, a head of garlic, an onion or "urinates". What comes out of the tió is a communal rather than individual gift, shared by everyone present.
Beating the Tió de Nadal
Enlarge
Beating the Tió de Nadal

In addition to the names listed in the opening paragraph, the additional nickname "Caga Tió" ("shit log") derives from the many songs of Tió de Nadal that begin with this phrase, which was originally (in the context of the songs) an imperative ("Shit, log"). The use of this expression as a name is not believed to be part of the ancient tradition.

The tradition of the tió could be related to that of the Christmas tree.

Here is a song of the "caga tió":
caga tió,

caga turró,
avellanes i mató,
si no cagues bé
et daré un cop de bastó.
¡caga tió!"
Shit, log,

shit torrons,
hazelnuts and cheese,
if you don't shit well
I'll give you a blow with a stick.
Shit, log!

After hitting it softly with a stick during the song it is hit harder on the words "¡caga tió!". Then somebody puts his hand under the blanket and takes a gift. The gift is opened and then the song begins again. There are many such songs: this is just an example of a short one.

[Skylace]

You can make your own!

[faceless]

haha, make your own peasant

Sounds like a sketch from Monty Python!

[eefanincan]

[6ULDV8]

[faceless]

Caganers: figurines of defecating world leaders in Catalan nativity scenes

The 'caganer' (literally 'defecator') is a feature of Catalan nativity scenes. The figure is usually tucked away in a corner of the model, far away from the manger itself, for children to find. The caganer represents fertility and equality.

The figure was traditionally a representation of a Catalan peasant wearing a red stocking hat, but modern caganers are often caricatures of famous people...

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They're excellent - I'd save up coupons to get them!

[Skylace]

Man seeing this post is a blast from the past Face!

[faceless]

same shit, different year!

(or something like that, haha)

[pirtybirdy]

same shit, different leaders. lol!

[faceless]

haha good one